Container for bulk package parts



July 29, 1958 J. F. FISCHER 2,845,210

CONTAINER FOR BULK PACKAGE: PARTS Filed May 22, 1953 2 Sheets-Shea?. l

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IN VEN TOR.

July 29, 1958 J. P. FISCHER CONTAINER FOR BULK PACKAGE PARTS Filed May22, 1955 INVENTOR. /Sc-er 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent OCONTAINER FOR BULK PACKAGE PARTS John P. Fischer, Monroe, Mich.,assignor to River Raisin Paper Company, Monroe, Mich., a corporation ofMichigan Application May 22, 1953, Serial No. 356,816

11 Claims. (Cl. 229-14) This application relates to shipping containersand, more particularly, to a container for shipping bulk package partssuch as nails, bolts, nuts, and the like.

In the usual container construction ffor shipping bulk package parts, itis customary to use a material having comparatively high strengthcharacteristics such as Wood, wood-reinforced cardboard, or a likematerial. Such materials are used in containers for this class ofarticles because of the weight and bulk of such articles and theirtendency to shift While in transit, which characteristicswouldordinarily spread and bulge a container not having a strong and rigidstructure.

In accordance with this invention, a container construc-l tion isprovided for packaging bulk partsY which may be manufactured from alight-weight material such as card'- board, corrugated board Ior somesimilar material. Such construction eliminates the highk cost and weightinherent in conventional-type containers. This novel containerconstruction possesses excellent strength and rigidity characteristicswhich function to prevent any spreading and bulging of the containerwhile it is in transit due to any tendency of the bulk parts to shiftone Way or the other.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a container forshipping bulk package parts which may be manufactured from light-weightmaterials, yetk which possesses strength and rigidity comparable to thewoodor the like containers now used for such purposes.

It is another object of this invention to provide a container for bulkpackage parts, of simple and rugged character, embodying a noveldouble-corner and double-wall construction, and an improved fasteningmeans to lock the side and end walls of such a container securelytogether to prevent any spreading and bulging.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved shippingcontainer for bulk package parts having the above-describedcharacteristics, and which may be economically manufactured usingconventional methods and materials.

Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent from the subsequent. description taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view ofan illustrative embodiment of thecontainer is assembled condition.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view taken along the line2-2 of Figure l and showing the locking relation between the end walltabs and end locking flaps.

Figure 3 is a transverse `sectional view taken along the line 3-3 ofFigure l, showing the relation of the body, liner and cover members ofthis embodiment, and showing a fragmentary portion of the double-cornerconstruction.

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line 4-4 tofFigure l, showing the relation of the'y body, liner and cover members ofthis'embodiment.

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Figure 5 is a plan sectional view taken along the line 5 5 of Figure 1and showing the novel double-corner construction of the invention.

Figure 6 is a plan View of a one-piece, single-wall cardboard blank ofgenerally rectangular shape showing how a body and cover member for acontainer may be made from a single blank of material.

Figure 7 is a transverse sectional view of a second embodiment of theinvention, showing a container of double construction having a covermember telescopically fitting over a body member.

Figue 8 is a transverse sectional view of a third embodiment of theinvention showing a container of double construction similar to thatshown in Figure 7 but. with a modified cover member.

Figure 9 is a transverse view of a fourth embodiment showing a containerhaving a body member of single construction and a telescoping covermember of double construction.

Figure l0 is a transverse view of a fifth embodiment of the inventionshowing a container having a body member of double construction with theat cover member being secured to the body member by a baling wire orlike means.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings, and particularly to Figuresl through 6, the invention is shown as applied to a container forshipping bulk package parts, although it will be' understood that theprinciples of con struction embodied in the container are equallyapplicable to shipping containers for other articles of commerce.

The illustrative embodiment. of Figure l comprises, in general, a bodymember 2 provided with a liner element 4 slidably mounted therein, and acover member 6 adapted to be telescopically seated on the upper portionof the liner element 4. The body and cover members are similarlyconstructed, with each member havinga novel double-wall anddouble-corner structure. The liner element 4 is shown as beingpreferably made with a singlewall construction; however, it may be madewith any number of walls or of any thickness desired.

The novel double-corner construction of the body'member 2 and covermember 6, which is explained in detail infra, is one of the mostessential parts of the invention. The use of this double-cornerconstruction plus a unique means for holding the side walls` and endwalls` in place makes.l it possible to construct a container using alightweight material to carry articles of great weight and bulk. A,container so constructed has excellent strength and rigiditycharacteristics and may be used for shipping bulk package parts withoutfear of any rupture, spreading or bulging of the container.

The material used for fabricating the various members of the containermay be any suitable light-Weight material such as cardboard, corrugatedboard or the like, which possesses good strength, rigidity andWorkability characteristics. The ybody member 2, liner element 4 andcover member 6 may be made from the same thickness or size material witheach part being fabricated from a onepiece blank. However, for economyin the use of material and for increased production, both they body andcover members may preferably be fabricated from a'v onepiece blank asshown in Figure 6. i

The one-piece blank shown in Figure 6 may be formed by any conventionalmethod as by stamping. This onepiece blank is cut on the double verticallines 8, 9 and 10, and on the double horizontal lines 11, 12, 13 and 14to form separate blanks for the body member 2, and the cover member 6.

The body member 2, comprises a plurality ofside. walls 16, 17, 1S and 19integrally attached to each other along creased or scored folding lines20, 21,` 22. Attached to side wall 16Y is a` Hap 23 and for assembly itis folded along line 24 and secured by suitable means, as by stapling25, to side wall 19, the side walls being folded at right angles to eachother along lines 20, 21, 22. The end wall 27 of body member 2 includesend'flaps 28', 29, 30 and 31, integrally attached to the lower edges ofside walls 16, 17, 18 and 19 respectively, and folded inwardly at rightangles to said side walls along folding lines 32, 33, 34 and 35, withend flaps 29 and 31 overlying end aps 28 and 30. End flaps 29 and 31 areformed with diagonally hinged tabs 36, 37, 38 and 39 which are foldedinwardly along folding lines 40, 41, 42 and 43, respectively, and intoengagement with mating diagonal apertures 45, 46, 47 and 48 provided inend flaps 28 and 30. The ends of tabs 36, 37, 38 and 39 extend insidethe container and are folded over so as to lock the end flaps in place.It can be seen that the interlocking action of the diagonal tabs andmating apertures will be effective to prevent any spreading and bulgingof the end and side walls of the body member 2.

Attached to the upper edges of the side walls 16 and 18 and foldedinwardly along lines 56 and 57 are side aps 50 and 51, respectively.with a pair of wing panels designated as 52, 53, 54 and 55, which arefolded inwardly at right angles to the side flaps along lines 60, 61, 62and 63 to form a doublecorner construction. As is best seen in Figure 5,the side flaps 50 and 51 with their associated wing panels fold inwardlyto provide a novel double-wall and doublecorner construction whichincreases the strength and rigidity of the body member 2. To completethe double- Wall construction, the side walls 17 and 19 are providedwith attached side locking flaps 64 and 65, respectively, foldedinwardly along lines 66 and 67 and engaging the wing panels 52, 53, 54and 55. An interlocking effect between the side locking flaps 64, 65 andthe wing panels is provided by a diagonal juncture between thesemembers, as at 68 and 69. The end wall structure 27 is completed by theprovision of a pair of end locking aps 70 and 71 hingedly attached tothe side locking aps 64 and 65, respectively, and foldable inwardlyalong lines 72 and 73, at right angles to aps 64 and 65, to form anupper surface for the end wall 27. The end locking flaps 70 and 71 alsoserve as a locking means for holding the folded ends of tabs 36, 37, 38,39 and the side walls 16, 17, 18, 19 in place. Preferably the side flaps50 and 51 are moved into place after the flaps 64, 65, 70 and 71 are inposition so that the wing panels of the flaps 50 and 51 may move intothe cutout spaces at the side of the side flaps 64 and 65 and theexposed edges secure the end locking aps 70 and 71 to the end of thebox.

The liner member 4 may be formed by folding a onepiece blank into asquare, open-ended structure with the sides overlapping and securedtogether by some suitable means as by stapling 72. The outside dimensionof liner member 4 is slightly less than the inside dimension of bodymember 2 to allow the liner to be slidably mounted inside the bodymember 2. The upper end of liner 4 extends above the body member 2, asdesignated by 73, and telescopically ts into the cover member 6.

The cover member 6 is constructed from a one-piece blank similar inshape and size to the blank for the body member 2, but in addition isprovided with hand holes for manipulating the container. As is best seenin Figure 6, the side walls of the cover member 6 are made smaller inheight than those of the body member 2 thus providing a shallowerconstruction for the cover member.

The cover member 6 comprises a plurality of side walls 75, 76, 77 and 78integrally attached in right angular arrangement to each other alongfolding lines 79, 80 and 81. ln assembly the side walls are heldtogether by a flap 82 folded along line 83 and secured to side wall 75by some suitable means as by stapling 84. The top or end wall of thecover member 6, includes end flaps 85, 86, 87 and 88, integrallyattached to the upper edges of side walls 75, 76, 77 and 78,respectively, and folded inwardly at Each side flap is provided rightangles to said walls along folding lines 90, 91, 92 and 93, with endflaps 85 and 87 overlying end flaps 86 and 88. End flaps 85 and 87 areformed with diagonally hinged tabs 94, 95, 96 and 97, which are foldedinwardly along folding lines 98, 99, 100 and 101, respectively, and intoengagement with mating diagonal apertures 102, 103, 104 and 105 providedin end aps 86 and 88. The ends of tabs 94, 95, 96 and 97 extend insidethe cover member and are folded over so as to lock the end flaps inplace.

Attached to the lower edges of the side walls 76 and 78 and foldedinwardly along the lines 106 and 107 are side aps 108 and 109,respectively. Each side flap is provided with a pair of wing panelsdesignated as 110, 111, 112, 113, which are folded inwardly at rightangles to the side flaps along lines 114, 115, 116 and 117 to provide anovel double-corner construction. Hingedly attached to the lower edgesof the side walls 75 and 77 are side locking aps 120 and 121,respectively, which are folded inwardly along lines 122 and 123 and intoengagement with wing panels 110, 111, 112 and 113. An interlocking electbetween the side locking flaps 120, 121 and the wing panels is providedby a diagonal juncture between these members, as at 124 and 125. The endwall structure 5 is completed by the provision of a pair of end lockingaps 126 and 127 hingedly attached to the side locking aps and 121,respectively, and foldable inwardly, along lines 128 and 129, at rightangles to flaps 120 and 121 to form an inner surface for the end wall.As is best seen in Figure 2, the end locking aps 126 and 127 also serveas a locking means for holding the folded ends of tabs 94, 95, 96, 97and the side walls 75, 76, 77, 78 in place.

Handholes 130 and 131 may be provided in the cover member 6, as bycutting holes 132 and 133 in side walls 108 and 109, respectively, andthen making flaps 134 and 13S in side walls 76 and 78 which may befolded inwardly through holes 132 and 133 as best seen in Figure 3.

The end locking aps 70, 71, 126 and 127 of the body and cover membersmay be omitted if desired, and a separate square piece of material equalin size to a pair of said end locking flaps may be used to hold down theend wall tabs and lock the side walls in place.

lt will be seen that the illustrative embodiment of Figure l comprisestwo open-end containers 2 and 6, of similar shape and construction,joined by means of a liner member 4 to form a novel container. Theprinciples of construction of the invention may be adapted to variousmodifications of the container of Figure l, some of such modificationsbeing shown in Figures 7, 8, 9 and l0.

In the modification of Figure 7, a closed container is shown embodyingtwo open-end containers and 141 constructed in accordance with theprinciples of the invention. The container 140 is used as a body memberwith the container 141 forming a cover member and being of such a sizeas to permit it to be telescopically seated on the container 140. Theside walls 142 of the cover member 141 may be made of suicient length tocompletely cover the side walls 143 of body member 140 to provideadditional strength and rigidity.

Figure 8 is another modification of a closed container similar to thatshown in Figure 7 and having a body member 144 and a telescopicallymounted cover member 145, constructed in accordance with the principlesof the invention. The cover member 145 extends only partially down theside walls of body member 144. If desirable, the cover member 145 may beof a single-wall construction instead of the illustrated double-wallconstruction.

Figure 9 shows a further embodiment of the invention wherein a closedcontainer having a single-wall body member 147, is provided with adouble-wall cover member 148 constructed in accordance with theprinciples of the invention. The cover member 148 is telescopicallyseated on the body member 147 and completely encases ythe side walls 149of said body member.

The embodiment of Figure 10 comprises a closed container having anopen-end body member 150 constructed in accordance with the teachings ofthe invention With a at double-wall cover member 151 seated thereon andsecured thereto as by a baling wire or strap 152, or like means.

It will be appreciated from the foregoing description that the presentinvention comprises a novel and improved container construction forshipping bulk package parts which may be manufactured from a low-cost,lightweight material, yet which possesses superior strength and rigiditycharacteristics heretofore unachieved in a like container constructed ofsuch material. Such superior characteristics are attributable to thenovel double-wall and double-corner principles of construction of theinvention in conjunction with the novel means for simultaneouslyfastening the end tlaps and side walls of the container in place. Thenovel fastening means, which comprises a plurality of diagonally spacedtabs on one set of end tiaps lockingly engaging a plurality ofdiagonally spaced apertures in another set of end flaps, functions tolock the end wall and side walls rigidly together and thus suppress anyracking, straining, or wrenchingl caused by the tendency of the bulkpackage parts to shift.

While it will be apparent that the preferred embodiments of theinvention herein -disclosed are well calculated to fulfill the objectsabove stated, it will be appreciated that the invention is susceptibleto modication, variation, and change without departing from the properscope or fair meaning of the subjoined claims.

What is claimed is:

l. An open-end container made from a single sheet of materialcomprising, four side walls forming a closed structure when the abuttededges are secured together, a rst pair of opposite side walls beingprovided at one end with hinged side aps folded inwardly against saidwalls, said folded side aps having integrally connected hinge wingpanels on the sides thereof extending inwardly and forming an innercorner structure at each corner of said container, a second pair ofopposite side walls against which said wing panels abut having hingedside locking flaps at the same end as that from which the aps on saidfirst said side wall extend folded inwardly against the second saidwalls and of a reduced width to lie between said wing panels, an endwall provided by a first pair of end flaps hingedly attached to saidfirst pair of side Walls, a second pair of end flaps hngedly attached tosaid second pair of side walls and overlapping said first pair of endflaps, said end aps extending from the side wall at the end opposite tothat having the side aps, means for detachably fastening said end apstogether, said fastening means comprising a plurality of apertures inone pair of said end flaps, a plurality of hinged tabs on the other pairof said end aps arranged to t into and extend through said apertures,and means for simultaneously locking said tabs in said apertures andsaid side flaps in place.

2. An open-end container as set forth in claim l, wherein said lockingmeans comprises a pair of end locking aps hingedly attached to the sidelocking flaps sheet of material and being a four-sided, open-end cartoncomprising, four side walls attached together at the end edges, a rstpair of opposite side Walls being provided with hinged side aps foldedinwardly against said walls, said folded side flaps having integrallyconnected hinged wing panels on the sides thereof extending inwardly andforming an inner corner structure at each corner of said carton, asecond pair of opposite side walls against which said wing panels abutand having hinged side locking flaps at the same end from which thellaps on said first side walls extend folded inwardly against the secondsaid wall and of reduced width to lie between said Wing panels, an endWall provided by a first pair of end aps hingedly attached to said firstpair of side Walls, a second pair of end aps hingedly attached to saidsecond pair of side walls and overlying said first pair of end flaps,said end flaps extending from the side wall at the end opposite to thathaving the side aps, means for detachably fastening said end flapstogether, said fastening means comprising a plurality of apertures inone pair of said end flaps, a plurality of hinged tabs on the other pairof said end flaps arranged to tit into and extend through saidapertures,

and means for simultaneously locking said tabs in said apertures andsaid side aps in place.

4. A container as set forth in claim 3, wherein said locking meanscomprises a pair of end locking aps hingedly attached to the sidelocking aps on said second pair of side walls and adapted to be foldedinwardly into a position to form a bottom for said side Walls andoverlying the ends of said tabs extending inwardly from said apertures.

5. A container as set forth in claim 4, wherein said cover member istelescopically seated on said body member.

6. A container as set forth in claim 4, wherein said cover member is afour-sided, open-end carton of the type set forth in said claim.

7. A container as set forth in claim 4, wherein the body member is afour-sided, open-end carton of the type set forth in said claim.

S. A container as set forth in claim 7, wherein said cover member isseated on said body member in right angular abutment thereto and issecured to said body member by a detachable fastening means.

9. A container as set forth in claim 4, wherein said cover and bodymembers are of the four-sided, open-end carton type as set forth in saidclaim.

10. A container as set forth in claim 9, wherein said cover member istelescopically seated on said body member.

11. A container as set forth in claim 9, wherein said body member isprovided with a liner element slidably mounted therein and said covermember is telescopically seated on said liner element.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 674,220Scott May 14, 1901 1,587,602 Plautz June 8, 1926 1,778,462. Nourse Oct.14, 1930 2,361,603 Cohen Oct. 31, 1944 2,510,004 Williams May 30, 1950

